Texas flooding: Missing Camp Mystic child's parents file suit to stop reopening

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A view of Camp Mystic, the site of where at least 20 girls went missing after flash flooding in Hunt, Texas, on July 5, 2025. Rescuers were on Saturday searching for more than 20 girls missing from a riverside summer camp in the US state of Texas, af

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AUSTIN, Texas - The parents of a still missing Camp Mystic camper are suing to stop the camp from reopening this summer.

A 108-page lawsuit filed in Travis County alleges that the camp never did anything to improve its flood vulnerability despite the money it made. 

The suit also claims that the camp is prioritizing reopening over children's safety.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 'Heaven's 27' parents file lawsuit against Camp Mystic, claiming 'gross negligence'

What they're saying:

The lawsuit names many co-defendants, including Camp Mystic LLC and members of the Eastland family which owns and runs the camp.

The suit says that despite "a century of warnings" about a catastrophic flood and regulations, standards and guidelines by numerous groups and authorities, the Eastlands built cabins directly in the flood path, ignored warnings, and "chose complacency over prevention."

"On and before July 4, 2025, common-sense safety measures were absent. Protocols and plans that should have been in place were ignored. Cile was killed not because of an unavoidable act of nature, but because of preventable failures and broken promises," the suit says.

Cecilia "Cile" Steward

The suit also says that despite explicit warnings by the National Weather Service, including one at 1:14 a.m. on July 4th saying "LIFE THREATENING CONDITIONS EXIST. MOVE IMMEDIATELY TO HIGHER GROUND", the Eastlands did not evacuate the campers and counselors. 

The Eastlands allegedly also told counselors in the cabin closest to the river, which had already begun taking on water, to return to their cabin and stay put. The only things that were moved to higher ground were canoes and property, says the suit.

At around 3 a.m. that day, the suit says Dick Eastland decided he needed to evacuate some of the cabins close to the water, but there is no evacuation plan, instead choosing to improvise a plan and evacuate five cabins one at a time. 

"When evacuations finally began, the youngest and most vulnerable girls were left for last. There was time. There were routes. There were safe places to go. But there was no plan and no leadership," the suit says. 

Another lawsuit filed by family of Camp Mystic victim

One of the victims of the Camp Mystic flooding expressed her fear of being swept away just two months before the flood hit.

At around 3:30 a.m., Edward Eastland comes back, but tells the counselors they cannot leave and that the water is too high and will soon recede. But the water continued to rise and girls had to be evacuated out of the cabin on mattresses. 

"Some girls are sucked out of the window by the current. The water is churning and violent. For some of the girls, the current carries them to the cabins and a stand of trees lining the road and soccer field. Some girls are flung from tree to tree, holding on as long as they can, until they reach the Bug House Tree where most of the survivors will be found. Some campers report later being approximately thirty feet high in the tree but still touching water," the suit says.

The suit says that instead of taking any accountability for what happened, the Eastlands now blame God and claim the tragedy was due to an unprecedented flood. 

The suit also pushed back against the Eastlands' claims in their defense, including:

• They did nothing wrong because no one told them there would be a catastrophic flood at Camp Mystic's specific address; the suit says the NWS did issue a flash flood warning for the area that included Camp Mystic
• Nobody told them there was a life-threatening situation or instructed them to evacuate until after 3:30 a.m.; the suit brings up the flash flood warning at 1:14 a.m. with "LIFE THREATENING FLASH FLOODING" in all caps.
• They should be congratulated for safely evacuating 166 campers; the suit says the Eastlands only evacuated a few cabins, with many girls defying their orders and self-evacuating.

The suit also says that less than 60 days after the flood, the Eastlands began recruiting again and while families planned funerals, they were soliciting deposits for summer 2026.

6 more families sue Camp Mystic after Texas floods

The families of six child victims of the deadly Texas Hill Country flooding have filed a joint lawsuit against Camp Mystic for their handling of the tragic situation.

"The Eastlands sent handwritten letters addressed specifically to the children, bypassing their parents, imploring them to return. They followed with email after email pressuring families to send their daughters back. In doing so, they invoked the memories of the dead campers and counselors as a marketing tool, telling families that a return would bring healing, that the deceased campers would have wanted them to come back, that the legacy of Camp Mystic lives on even while twenty-seven of its campers do not," says the suit.

What's next:

The suit is seeking damages in excess of $1 million and an injunction to prevent Camp Mystic reopening or operating pending resolution of the case.

Read the full lawsuit below: